Hair clipper



Oct. 5, 1965 o. w. GNAGE 3,209,455

HAIR CLIPPER Filed Sept. 20, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 OLIVER W. GIVAGE' INVENTOR.

BY QM ATTORNEY O. W. GNAGE Oct. 5, 1965 HAIR CLIPPER 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 20, 1962 LII/ER W. G/VAG'E INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY Oct. 5, 1965 o. w. GNAGE 3,209,455

HAIR CLIPPER Filed Sept. 20, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 70 V/ a f Fig.8 OLIVER w. GIVAGE INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY Oct. 5, 1965 o. w. GNAGE 3,209,455

HAIR CLIPPER Filed Sept. 20, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 OL/VEI? M! G/VAGE NVENT Fig ,2 1 OR.

BY 42M ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,209,455 HAIR CLIPPER Oliver W. Gnage, 75 Panorama Trail, Rochester 25, N.Y. Filed Sept. 20, 1962, Ser. No. 225,105 22 Claims. (Cl. 30-200) This invention relates generally to clippers, and more specifically to an improved motor driven hair clipper.

Hair clippers for providing a well shaped hair taper without requiring a great deal of manual skill by the operator are generally well known in the art, but all devices of this type that applicant is aware of have serious defects which make them commerically impractical. One drawback of such prior-art hair clippers has been their highly complicated construction, necessitating a large number of parts, some machined to extremely close tolerances. As a consequence, the devices have been too expensive to manufacture, and hence commercially unacceptable. Other devices of this general type have had serious operational difliculties that have interfered with their giving repeated satisfactory service. Furthermore, none of these devices that applicant is aware of incorporated means for cutting a persons hair at a fixed length, such as for brush cuts, or for providing a taper on portions of the head that are not readily accessible such as around the ears. Applicants improved haid clipper is believed to obviate these and other disadvantages of prior-known hair clippers.

One of the primary objects of the present invention is to provide an improved hair clipper that is of simple design and construction, thoroughly reliable and efiicient in operation, and economical to manufacture.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved hair clipper that essentially eliminates the need for any manual skill by an operator so that an inexperienced person may give other persons a professionalappearing haircut without any previous training, and without the use of attachments.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of an improved hair clipper by which the operator may give haircuts having tapers of varying length such as short, medium and long, as well as brush or crew cuts.

One more object of the invention is to provide an improved hair clipper enabling an operator to eliminate stairs, steps and digs in the hair of the person receiving the haircut.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide an improved motor driven hair clipper having a comb movable with respect to the cutting device by means of a pivotal lever, cable and pulley system.

Another specific object of this invention is to provide a hair clipper in which the distance the comb moves away from the cutting device upon a predetermined movement of the clipper is controlled by adjustably moving a pulley with respect to a cable.

Another specific object of the invention is to provide a hair clipper in which the distance the comb moves away from the cutting device upon a predetermined movement of the clipper is controlled by a rotatable member having one end of a cable secured thereto and an adjustable pulley mounted thereon adapted to engage and move the cable.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved hair clipper having control means for positioning the movable comb blades in a selected normal position with respect to the cutting blades to enable an operator to provide brush cuts and a proper taper-cut around the ears of the person receiving the haircut.

Objects and advantages other than those set forth above will be apparent from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

3,209,455 Patented Oct. 5, 1965 FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a hair clipper constructed in accordance with the invention and having a portion broken away and another portion sectioned;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view similar to FIG. 1 showing in full lines the position of the comb blades after they are shifted with respect to the cutting blades upon relative movement of a movable hair tapering mechanism with respect to the body of the hair clipper;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the hair clipper of FIG. 1 on a partially reduced scale and with the cover removed;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the hair clipper of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view on the same scale as FIG. 4 of the lower housing taken along the line 5--5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the pulley setting mechanism disclosed in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the lower detent shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary view in section taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary section view taken along line 99 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing a modification of the invention;

FIG. 11 is a bottom view of the hair clipper of FIG. 10 with a portion thereof broken away; and

FIG. 12 is a side elevational view similar to FIG. 10 showing in full lines the position of the comb blades after they are shifted with respect to the cutting blades upon movement of the movable hair tapering mechanism.

With particular reference to FIGS. 19 of the drawings, a hair clipper 10 is disclosed comprising an upper assembly 12 as seen best in FIGS. 1-3 having a base plate 14 to which a fixed cutting blade 16 is secured by means of nuts 18 and bolts 20. A movable cutting blade 22 is mounted on fixed blade 16 for reciprocal movement relative thereto. An insulating block 24 as seen in FIG. 3 is secured to base plate 14, and supports a yoke 26 and coil assembly 28 of an electric motor. A vibrating armature arm 30 has one end secured to a portion of the insulating block 24 by screws 32, and its opposite end supporting one end of a spring 34 by means of studs 36. The opposite end of spring 34 has a pair of spaced depending fingers 38 extending into an elongated slot 40 in movable blade 22. The fingers 38 not only serve to connect the spring 34 to blade 22, but additionally have shoulders pressing against the upper surface of blade 22 to urge it into engagement with blade 16. A leaf spring 42 (see FIG. 3) has a midportion secured to a block 44 mounted on blade 16, and free end portions engaging an edge of movable blade 22 for urging it into engagement with the depending fingers 28, and for guiding the reciprocal movement of blade 22. Th motor described is essentially a well-known type of vibrator motor which is adapted when connected to a power supply to cause the armature arm 30 to vibrate, this in turn causing the movable cutting blade 22 to vibrate or reciprocate rapidly with respect to the fixed cutting blade 16 to accomplish a cutting action.

The lower assembly 46 as seen best in FIGS. 1, 4 and 5 comprises a plastic housing 48 for supporting a setting means and a movable hair tapering mechanism to be described hereinafter. The lower assembly 46 is secured to base plate 14 of upper assembly 12 by any suitable means. The upper end of plastic housing 48 has a plurality of ribs 50 and slots 52 (see FIGS. 5 and 8) into which individual thin, elongated plate-like comb blades 54 are slidably mounted. One end of each comb blade 54 has an integrally formed arm 56 and an arcuate lower surface 58. The comb blades 54 have aligned openings 60 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) extending therethrough through which a pair of levers 62, 64 extend, one from each end, for interrelating the blades 54. The plastic housing 48 further has a pair of cavities 66 (see FIGS. 5 and 8) for housing the comb blade setting means for releasably holding the blades 54 in a selected initial or normal fixed position relative to cutting blades 16, 22. The setting means comprises a plunger 68 in each cavity 66 and a helical spring 70 encircling each plunger 68. One end of spring 70 engages the housing 48, and its opposite end engages an enlarged end 72 of the plunger 68 for urging same against respective ends 74, 76 of the levers 62, 64. The springs 70 and plungers 68 bias the respective ends 74, 76 of the levers 62, 64 against the lugs 78 of a pair of identical stop members shown as detents 80, seen best in FIGS. 5 and 7. Each detent 80 comprises a plate 82 having an integrally formed arm 84 extending through an opening between the plastic housing 48 and base plate 14 and having a bent finger tab 86. The detent 80 further has a leaf spring 88, one end of which is secured to plate 82 and the opposite end having lips 90 bearing against an edge of a slot, not shown, in the plastic housing 48 and an edge of a slot, not shown, in plate 14. The detent 80 further has a bent pawl 92 adapted to cooperate with a ratchet 94 molded into the plastic housing 48. In the assembled position, the detent spring 88 is tensioned, urging pawl 92 into engagement with ratchet 94. By varying the initial or normal position of comb blades 54 relative to cutting blades 16, 22, the described setting means provides an effective means for properly positioning the blades as seen in FIG. 5 to allow the operator to taper cut a persons hair around each ear, one detent thereof providing the proper taper around one ear and the other detent providing the proper taper for the opposite car. It can readily be seen that if one detent 80 is positioned in its innermost position, and the other detent is moved forward to a desired taper, its lug 78 urges the levers 62, 64 pivoting them about end 74. The levers 62, 64 in turn move the comb blades 54 relative to fixed blades 16, 22 to provide a fixed taper as seen dotted in FIG. 5. In order to cut the hair on the top, top sides or the back of a persons head to a predetermined desired length such as for brush cuts, the operator moves both detents 80 in a forward direction equally, moving the comb blades 54 to a selected normal position in which the ends of the comb blades 54 are extended from the cutting blades 16, 22 a predetermined distance equal to the length of haircut desired.

The lower end of the plastic housing 48 supports the movable hair tapering mechanism for controlling the relative movement of the comb blades 54 to the cutting blades 16, 22. The housing 48 has a pair of spacedapart ribs 96 to which spaced-apart rails 98 (see FIG. 4) are secured by screws 100 or the like. Rails 98 overhang the ribs 96 to form guideways for a taper selector bracket 102 as seen in FIGS. 4 and 6. The taper selector bracket 102 comprises a plate slidable within the guide ways and having a pair of extending finger tabs 104. The bracket 102 further has an L-shaped elongated slot 106 thcrethrough so that one finger tab 104 and integral arm 108 acts as a leaf spring urging a lug 110 against the edge on one of the rails 98. The edge of the rail 98 is provided with a plurality of notches 112 which cooperate with lug 110 to form a detent for releasably holding the taper selector bracket 102 in one of a plurality of selected positions designated Lock, Long, Med, or Short. The bracket 102 further has a pair of spaced, struck-out tabs 114 which support a spindle 116 upon which a groved nylon fulcrum or roller 118 is rotatably mounted as seen in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4. A cable 120 rides in the groove of roller 118, and one end thereof is secured to one end of a plate 122 (also see FIG. 5) that extends through a slot 124 in plastic housing 48. The opposite end of plate 122 is secured by screws 126 to a struck-out tab 128 of a pusher plate 130 slidably mounted on the upper end of housing 48 and having an upturned lip 132 adapted to engage the ends of guide fingers 54. The opposite end of cable 120 is releasably secured to a lever 134 (see FIG. 2) pivoted on a stud 136 supported by a pivotal arm 138. The pivotal arm 138 is U-shaped in cross-section, and is pivotal on a spindle 140 supported by spaced-apart upturned tabs 142 on each rail 98. A thumbloop 144 is secured to arm 138, and the arm further carries a pin 141 which is adapted to engage a shoulder 142 of one of the finger tabs 104 when the taper selector bracket 102 is moved into the Lock position as seen dotted in FIG. 1 for releasably locking or preventing pivotal movement of arm 138 with respect to the upper and lower assemblies 12, 46 respectively.

In the operation of the movable hair tapering mechanism disclosed in FIGS. 1-9, the operator initially moves the detents of the fixed tapering mechanism to their innermost positions so that the blades 54 assume a selected normal position in which the ends of blades 54 and 16, 22 are in substantial register as seen in FIG. 1. The operator then moves the taper selector bracket 102 in a desired notch depending upon the length of taper desired. Although only four notches are designated, it is, of course, possible to incorporate a greater number. The primary function of this taper selector bracket 102 is to position roller 118 relative to the ends of cable 120. Let us assume that the taper selector bracket 102 and roller 118 are moved to the notch designated Long in FIGS. 2 and 4. The operator places the finger loop 144 against the neck of the person receiving the hair cut and holds it there preferably with his left thumb while pivotally moving the upper and lower assemblies 12, 46 as a unit in the upward direction. As the assemblies 12, 46 are moved upwardly as a unit, the cable and pusher plate secured thereto are pulled causing lip 132 of pusher plate 130 to gradually urge the comb blades 54 outwardly against the bias of springs 70 from its normal position as seen in FIG. 1 to an extended position with respect to the cutting blades 16, 22 (see FIG. 2). The distance between the outer surfaces of the comb blades '54 and the cutting blades 16, 22 increases as the angle between the arm 138 and lower assembly 46 increases. When the hair tapering operation is completed, the operator releases the loop allowing springs 70 to return the comb blades 54 to their normal position. It is obvious that as the taper selector bracket 102 and roller 118 are moved closer to the pusher plate 130, for instance to one of the positions designated Med. or Short, the pusher plate 130 will not be moved as far outwardly for the same angle of separation between the arm 138 and the assemblies 12, 46, and hence the comb blades 54 will not move out as far resulting in a taper of reduced length. The movable hair tapering mechanism is used to tapercut the hair on the back of the neck and head, and to taper-cut the sideburns if desired. To taper-cut around the ears, the taper selector bracket 102 is moved into the Lock position locking the pivotal arm 138 to the lower assembly 46, and the detents 80 of the comb blade setting means are used, one at a time, to select a normal position for blades 54 to provide the taper cut around the proper ear to match the taper-cut for the back of the neck. Then both of the detents 80 may be used to move all of the comb blades 54 to a selected normal position in which the ends thereof are moved a predetermined distance from the cutting blades 16, 22 to cut the hair on the top, top sides and back of the head of the person receiving the haircut to a specified length.

In the modification of the invention disclosed in FIGS. 10-12, similar or identical parts to the parts described in FIGS. 1-9 will be designated by the same numerals primed. The hair clipper 10 has an upper assembly 12' having a base plate 14' having an offset portion to provide sufficient room for the enlarged ends of comb blades 54'. The hair clippe 10 has a fixed cutting blade 16' secured to assembly 12' by a screw 20. A movable cutting blade 22' is mounted on blade 16' and is reciprocally moved relative thereto by a spring 34' having one end secured to armature arm 30' and its opposite end in engagement with blade 22.

The comb blades 54' have a slightly dilferent shaped end 56' than blades 54, but are similarly slidably mounted in slots 52 separated by ribs 50'. The comb blade setting means is identical to that disclosed and described in FIG. 5 and hence will not be described in further detail in this modification.

The primary differences in the modification in FIGS. -12 over the hair clipper described in FIGS. 1-9 resides in the aforementioned shape of the comb ends 56' which provides increased space between the ends 56 and housing 48 to allow the uncut hair to pass therebetween, and in the details of the movable hair tapering mechanism. This mechanism comprises a cup-shaped housing 151 secured to the lower surface of lower assembly 46 by any suitable means. The housing 151 has an annular hub 152 through which a shaft 153 extended. The shaft 153 has a head 154 at one end, and a gear 155 secured to its other end. The gear 155 is rotatable by a drive means comprising a gear 156 in mesh therewith and mounted on a shaft 157 supported by housing 151. Gear 156 is integral with a pulley 158. A guide pulley 159 is rotatably supported -by housing 151 in a plane at right angles to the plane of pulley 158. A cord 161 has one end secured to pulley 158, its intermediate portion wound around pulley 158, and its other end directed over pulley 159 and extending through an opening in a cover plate 162 where it terminates in a finger loop 163.

The gear 155 has a cover plate 160 secured thereto, and is further connected to a plate 122' by a cable 164, one end of which is secured to plate 122', and its opposite end secured to a radially spaced lug 166 secured to both gear 155 and plate 160. The gear 155 has an elongated recess 167 having spaced apart openings 168 for receiving one end of a spring biased plunger or fulcrum 169. The plunger extends through a slot 171 in plate 160, and has a pulley 170 thereon adjacent cable 164. The plunger 169 is further movable along recess 167 to position plunger 169 in one of the openings 168 which are designated on plate 160 as Short, Medium, and Long. A helical spring 172 biases gear 155 in a counter-clockwise direction winding the cord 161 on pulley 158 until the base of loop 163 engages housing 151.

Let us assume that the operator desires to secure a Long taper and hence moves plunger 169 into the Long position as seen in FIG. 11. The spring 172 would bias gear 155 and the remaining parts of the movable hair tapering mechanism into the positions seen in full lines in FIGS. 10 and 11. To achieve the taper, the operator moves the front end of comb blades 54' into engagement with the lower portion of the neck of the person receiving the hair cut. As the operator moves the hair clipper and comb blades 54' toward the top of the persons head, he pulls the cord 161 by means of finger loop 163 causing gear 156 to turn gear 155 through an angle of approximately 55 degrees. This causes pulley 170 to engage and move cable 164 as seen dotted in FIG. 11 causing lip 132 of pusher plate 130' to gradually urge comb blades 54' outwardly with respect to the cutting blades 16, 22 (see FIG. 12) to achieve a gradual taper. If a shorter taper is desired, the operator moves plunger 169 in the opening designated Short or Medium, thereby moving pulley 170 toward the center of gear 155. It is apparent that when pulley 170 is radially spaced a shorter distance from the center of gear 155, pulley 170 is moved through a shorter arc upon a fixed angular movement of gear 155, thereby advancing cable 164 a shorter distance resulting in a shorter taper.

The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention as described hereinabove and as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a hair clipper, the combination comprising:

(A) hair cutting means;

(B) comb means movable relative to said cutting means between a normal position in which the ends of said hair cutting and comb means are in substantial register, and an extended position in which said ends are spaced apart; and

(C) means for controlling the movement of said comb means between said normal and extended positions;

(D) said controlling means comprising (1) a manually movable member, (2) means for engaging and moving said comb means, said moving means comprising a pusher plate in engagement with said comb means, (3) flexible means interconnecting said movable member and said moving means, and (4) a fulcrum interposed between said movable member and said moving means and cooperating with said flexible means intermediate its ends upon movement of said movable member to cause said moving means to move said comb means between said normal and extended positions, said fulcrum further being adjustably movable to one of a plurality of fixed positions for varying the distance between said normal and extended positions.

2. The invention according to claim 1 wherein said interconnecting means comprises a cable having one end secured to said pusher plate and its other end secured to said movable member.

3. The invention according to claim 2 wherein said cable ends are a predetermined distance apart when said comb means is in one of said normal and extended positions, and a shorter distance apart when said comb means is in the other of said normal and extended positions.

4. The invention according to claim 3 wherein said movable member is pivotal.

5. The invention according to claim 3 wherein said movable member is rotatable.

6. The invention according to claim 5 wherein said fulcrum is carried by said rotatable member.

7. In a hair clipper, the combination comprising:

(A) a body;

(B) hair cutting means supported by said body;

(C) comb means movable relative to said cutting means between a normal position in which the ends of said hair cutting and comb means are in substantial register, and an extended position in which said ends are spaced apart; and

(D) means for controlling the movement of said comb means between said normal and extended positions comprising 1) a lever having one end pivotally connected to said body and its other end free, (2) a pusher plate in engagement with said comb means, (3) a bracket on said body supporting a fulcrum, and (4) a cable trained over said fulcrum and having one end secured directly to said pusher plate and its other end secured to the free end of said pivotal lever whereby said comb means is movable relative to said cutting means between said normal and extended positions upon relative pivotal movement of said lever and body.

8. The invention according to claim 7 wherein said bracket is slidably movable on said body for adjustably varying the position of the fulcrum between the ends of said cable and thereby varying the distance between said normal and extended positions for a fixed relative movement of said lever and body.

9. In a hair clipper, the combination comprising:

(A) a body;

(B) hair cutting means supported by said body;

(C) comb means movable relative to said cutting means between a normal position in which the ends of said hair cutting and comb means are in substantial regis ter, and an extended position in which said ends are spaced apart; and

(D) means for controlling the movement of said comb means between said normal and extended positions comprising (1) a member rotatably mounted on said body, (2) drive means for rotatably moving said rotatable member, (3) a pusher plate in engagement with said comb means, (4) a fulcrum carried by said rotatable member, and (5) a first cable having one end connected to said pusher plate, its other end connected to said rotatable member, and its intermediate portion engageable and movable by said fulcrum whereby said comb means is movable relative to said cutting means between said normal and extended positions upon movement of said rotatable member by said drive means.

10. The invention according to claim 9 wherein said fulcrum is slidably movable on said rotatable member for adjustably varying its position between the ends of said first cable and thereby varying the distance between said normal and extended positions for a fixed movement of said rotatable member.

11. The invention according to claim 9 wherein said drive means comprises a first rotatable member in driving engagement with said rotatable member, a pulley secured to said first member, and a second cable having one end secured to said pulley, its intermediate portion wound around said pulley, and its other end free and adapted when pulled by the operator to rotate said pulley and first member for driving said rotatable member.

12. The invention according to claim 1 and further including comb setting means for releasably holding said comb means in its normal position, said setting means comprising a stop means for said comb means, and a resilient means for urging said comb means into engagement with said stop means.

13. The invention according to claim 12 wherein said comb means comprise a plurality of spaced apart slidable blades, and means interrelating said blades, and said resilient means urges said interrelating means against said stop means.

14. The invention according to claim 13 wherein said interrelating means comprises a bar extending through aligned openings in said comb blades.

15. The invention according to claim 12 wherein said stop means is adjustable and comprises a detent means.

16. The invention according to claim 15 wherein said 8 detent means comprises a ratchet and a pawl engageable therewith.

17. The invention according to claim 9 and further including comb setting means for releasably holding said comb means in its normal position, said setting means comprising a stop means for said comb means, and a resilient means for urging said comb means into engagement with said stop means.

18. The invention according to claim 17 wherein said comb means comprise a plurality of spaced apart slidable blades, and means interrelating said blades, and said resilient means urges said interrelating means against said stop means.

19. The invention according to claim 18 wherein said interrelating means comprises a bar extending through aligned openings in said comb blades.

20. The invention according to claim 17 wherein said stop means is adjustable and comprises a detent means.

21. The invention according to claim 20 wherein said detent means comprises a ratchet and a pawl engageable therewith.

22. In a comb blade setting means for a hair clipper having a plurality of spaced apart slidable blades, and means interrelating the blades for releasably holding said comb blades in a selected normal position, the combination comprising:

adjustable stop means for said comb blades comprising a detent means, said detent means comprising a ratchet and pawl engageable therewith, and resilient means for urging said interrelating means into engagement with said stop means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,615,328 1/27 Fewins 30201 X 1,713,369 5/29 Borrmann 30-201 1,745,997 2/ 30 Kocourek et al 30201 1,988,199 1/35 Greco et a1 30202 2,044,259 6/36 Roberts 30202 2,047,082 7/36 Russo 30202 2,239,939 4/41 Sneed 30201 X 2,725,627 12/55 Rekettye 30-202 2,802,263 8/57 Marchner 30201 WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,209,455 October S, 1965 Oliver W Gnage It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

In the heading to the printed specification, line 3, for "75 Panorama Trail, Rochester 25, N. Yb" read 24 Raleigh Rd. Rochester 17, N Y.

Signed and sealed this 20th day of September 1966.

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER Attesting Officer EDWARD J. BRENNER Commissioner of Patents 

22. IN A COMB BLADE SETTING MEANS FOR A HAIR CLIPPER HAVING A PLURALITY OF SPACED APART SLIDABLE BLADES, AND MEANS INTERRELATING THE BLADES FOR RELEASABLY HOLDING SAID COMB BLADES IN A SELECTED NORMAL POSITION, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING: ADJUSTABLE STOP MEANS FOR SAID COMB BLADES COMPRISING A DETENT MEANS, SAID DETENT MEANS COMPRISING A RATCHET AND PAWL ENGAGEABLE THEREWITH, AND RESILIENT MEANS FOR URGING SAID INTERRELATING MEANS INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID STOP MEANS. 